DIY Covered Cat Litter Box

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #yougottabekittenme #CollectiveBias

Aside from being parents to two legged, fur-less children; we also have a house “semi” full of the four legged, furry kind. We have a 2 year old gerbil, a 6 year old pit bull, a 9 1/2 year old part feral black cat, and a 10 1/2 year old cranky tabby cat. Needless to say, we have a house full.

One thing we learned quite quickly with the cats is that (a) they make a mess with their litter box and (b) with two cats and one litter box; it fills up rather quickly which is why I was excited to make my own DIY covered cat litter box!

This project is super easy and is big enough for the cats to use. I won’t say it is mess free because of course litter sticks to their feet, but it has definitely prevented the kicked litter from going everywhere!

We purchased an 18 gallon plastic tub with lid; used a paper plate with a permanent marker (I had planned on using one of our regular dish plates with a pencil, but we happened to have a paper plate on hand); and Fresh Step Total Control with the Power of Febreze 42 pound bag of cat litter from Sam’s Club.

Instructions for DIY Covered Cat Litter Box

With the lid on the tub, use your circular item (my paper plate) to trace around on the lid. This will be the hole that the cats jump in and out of so you don’t want it too small, but you don’t want it so big that it defeats the covered cat litter box purpose. We found that the paper plate was the perfect size.

I suppose if you are really good, you could free hand your circle. I, personally, am not that talented and would have ended up with an awkward shape that sort of looks like a circle, so I stuck with the plate idea.

Once you have traced your circle (or drawn your circle), use your box cutter to cut it out. I recommend still keeping the lid on the tub while you cut and if you can, make it one clean cut around. (I wasn’t strong enough and was doing a sawing motion which made the edges rough. Hubby was able to cut the entire circle in a clean sweep, leaving the edges smoother.)

If your edges come out rough (like mine) you can either shave them down smoother (which hubby did) or use masking tape, washi tape, decorative duck tape, etc. to cover the edges to prevent any injury. Hubby’s cuts were clean and not sharp or jagged and he smoothed mine out so we did not use tape.

Once your circle is cut – you’re essentially done! You just have to add cat litter!

We used Fresh Step Total Control with the Power of Febreze 42 pound bag of cat litter from Sam’s Club (please note, this particular cat litter is only available at Sam’s Club. A $3.50 off coupon will be loaded to member’s cards and will be offered in the May Instant Savings Book valid from May 11 through June 5, 2016.)

Fresh Step Total Control with the Power of Febreze includes Borate Technology for superior ammonia control (how I hate that smell!) and inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria. It has a lemongrass scent so it’s a nicer smell than just normal cat litter and is odor controlled with Febreze.

Hubby put the covered cat litter box in a hall that leads to all the main rooms of our house – the kitchen, the dining room, the front door, the living room, our bedroom, the laundry room, and the garage. Even with two cats using it; I have not smelt any odor emitting from it. (I’m not saying their won’t at any time, but I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t smell already!)

While packaging usually isn’t a factor in my purchases, I do have to share how neat the packaging was on this. Normally, cat litter comes in a bag that is then left open or in a tub (impossible to lift) and can be covered with the lid. Fresh Step Total Control with the Power of Febreze has a zipper top to close it up AND has a handle on the side making it easy to lift and pour into the cat litter box (otherwise there as no way I could have lifted it!)

I am pretty sure my cats (although we could only find one for the pictures as the other one hides until night time. I said he was part feral!) are happy with their new DIY covered cat litter box and I have been pleased with the less odor and less mess on my floor!

Do you have cats? Head on over to my Facebook page and share a picture of your cat with us!

An additional part of this campaign provided me the opportunity to donate monetary funds to a cat rescue of my choice. If you are a fellow cat – or even a fellow animal lover – you must know how hard it was to find just one! I wish I had tons of money to share with all of them, but alas, I had to choose one.

I ended up choosing a non-profit, no kill shelter that was local to me called Cat A Do Co-op. The rescue – like several others – is ran solely on volunteers who volunteer outside of their full time jobs. I am hoping by donating, a few more cats can be rescued and find the fur-ever home!

About Leila

Leila (aka Leels) is an Arizona family and parenting blogger of 3 (girl, boy, girl) with a small zoo (currently homes a pitbull, 2 cats, and 2 fish!) She is semi-crunchy; a mental health advocate, and childhood cancer advocate. Life as Leels follows Leels on her journey through her not so normal life.

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